Friday, December 23, 2016

Thursday, December 22, 2016

"The Tortured" is a monumental statue by Francesco Coccia in front of the caves on Via Ardeatina, two km from our home, where 335 people were massacred on 24 March, 1944, by German occupation forces because 33 Nazi soldiers were killed by the resistance.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Probably a drain cover (1300 kg) from the nearby Temple of Hercules Invictus. Today it is on the porch of the Basilica Santa Maria in Cosmedin and is popular with tourists because it was featured in the film "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn and Richard Peck.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Victims Memorial (Near Piramide, in front of the Ostia Lido Train Station)A plaque dedicates this monument, not only to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, but also to all "potenziali bersagli - potential targets" of fascism and racism.

If you stand between the steel wall and the figures you can see colored triangles on the front of each figure. From left to right, the triangles are: Black - assigned to people who were deemed "asocial elements," including Roma (gypsies) and the mentally ill; Red - political prisoners; Double Yellow - a Star of David that marked Jews; Blue - foreign forced laborers; and Pink - homosexuals and other "sex offenders.”